Tour de France Preview – Les Équipes du Tour – Part Une

by Whit

Here at Pavé we’re getting geared-up for our first year of coverage of this year’s Tour de France. Expect updates and comments on a daily basis, as well as speculation, gentle rants, and whatever else we might have up our sleeves.Frankly, we’re hoping it will be the best month Pavé yet!To begin, we thought a team-by-team preview might be in order, particularly since the web is inundated with reports on the individual favorites. We’ll go alphabetically through all 20 teams, posting 5 each day as final rosters are submitted.Come back daily to see what’s new!Here’s Part Une: AG2R-La MondialeAG2R won two...Continue Reading

(Superficial) National Championship Preview

by Whit

It’s a bit late in the game for it, but let’s have a bit of fun and take a wild stab at guessing some winners in tomorrow’s national championships. I admit that we could have done some research into the course profiles and start lists for each race, but let’s face it, it’s much more fun to make educated guesses based on who’s showed what kind of form in various events over the past few weeks. Besides, these races often turn-out to be crap-shoots anyway, so reason often doesn’t apply.Let the (guessing) games begin!AustriaNational championships in countries like Austria are...Continue Reading

Monday Musings – Death of a Legend and Suisse Wrap-up

by Whit

1. I don’t like it either. Race reports are smaller. Less photos. Information is scattered and difficult to locate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still the go-to site for all our cycling needs, but I can’t help the sense I’m beginning to the feel the way I’ve come to feel about Velonews‘ new print layout and schedule. The worst part? Apparently they’ve eliminated their entire history in the process. Wondering who won the 5th stage of the 2001 Paris-Nice? Forget it. This leaves a considerable void; hopefully not for long.So now where will you go for all the latest news and reports?...Continue Reading

Radio Free Europe

by Whit

I love it when news breaks that allows me to make clever titles from 80′s alternative rock hits…The UCI announced yesterday that it would allow Stages 10 and 13 in this year’s Tour to be run without the use of radios. Stage 10 covers 193 km and takes the riders on a 193km Bastille Day parade from Limoges to Issoudun; Stage 13 covers 200km from Vittel to Colmar. Both stages are considered “relatively flat” which means the French might have a “relatively realistic” chance to win a stage since they will have practiced riding without radios at their National Championship.Pardon,...Continue Reading

Tour de Suisse, Stage 4- Live Stream

by Whit

For a live stream of today’s Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse, click here.10:19EST Update: We’re not sure when it begins (basketball’s on right now), but it’s the first reliable source we’ve found all week.10:39EST Update: Looks like there will be a stream, but it’s delayed. I’ll keep trying!11:16EST Update: Still basketball… ...Continue Reading